trailer guide poles

[Rod Shiers]

I recover my BC23 from a reservoir with a shallow entry slipway. This means that for most of the recovery I can't use natural stern buoyancy to assist. On my CLH trailer I've found the tolerance on the rear wobble rollers  between the keel and the bilge keels is on 25mm each side. If I don't line up the boat perfectly I end up munching the rollers. I'm about to replace another set. I've checked and adjusted the rollers to make them in line and moved them 10mm further apart.

Has anyone had this problem and had any experience with trailer guide poles? I used to have them on a flying fifteen trailer. I wondered whether the tolerance is so small that even guide poles won't assist in the line up. Any advice would be welcome.

[Sea Simon]

Where I live we have a choice of two slipways.
One VERY narrow, with stone wall on one side, and a 15 ft drop on the other! Also VERY steep, hence very deep water, very quickly. Quite off putting as you see only sky out of the windscreen, as you back down the slip!
Had a bad experience there towing with a modified golf gti, all power no grip!  Must have burnt 10k miles worth of clutch!
Still offputting, even with a half decent 4x4.

Other is very benign, wide open, but a shallow angle, not very deep water at all.
I try very hard indeed not to immerse my hubs! I tend to use this slip.

As I usually launch/recover single handed (my crew is more of a hindrance than a help during this evolution) misalignment of boat on trailer was the main issue during recovery.

Over the winter I got some bargain "floatem poles", orange ones.
http://www.floatempoles.co.uk/
No more alignment issues. Highly recommended, especially with off season discount.

Have also found them to be very effective visual aids when towing an  empty trailer. Both for me, and for other drivers too.

[Rod Shiers]

Thanks Simon, sounds as though this is the way to go. When you said 'bargain' was that a special purchase?

[Sea Simon]

Thanks Simon, sounds as though this is the way to go. When you said 'bargain' was that a special purchase?

They were out of season, winter price reductions. Christmas time, I think? About £45 off full retail.

[Baycruiser23]

Hi Rod, interested to know if you went ahead and purchased the Floatem poles and if they were a success for the BC23? We are still trying to decide on the best way to make alignment and loading as fast and simple as possible.
Also are the poles easy to remove totally as we have narrow gateways at home and this maybe worth doing if possible after installation. Many thanks Chris

[Rod Shiers]

Hi Chris, sorry not to have replied earlier. I did fit the floater poles. It didn't make a tremendous difference to recovering the boat because when they are fitted as far as possible to the back of the trailer, the boat has already travelled a fair way onto the trailer before they start to guide the hull. They don't add much to the beam, about 100mm each side. I suspect that recovering the boat in a strong cross current they might help but for that fine alignment of the keel between the rollers they don't solve much. Regards Rod

[Baycruiser23]

Hi Rod, excuse delay also! Thanks for feedback on the guide poles and I think we will practise without during 2021 and see how we get on!! Bws Chris